Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro embraces Israeli flag during rally

The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro passionately embraces the Israeli flag during a rally attended by thousands of supporters in Sao Paulo. Bolsonaro declared, ‘What I seek is pacification; it is erasing the past,’ as he clutched the Israeli flag tightly. Among the crowd, numerous supporters waved Israeli flags to symbolise their opposition to the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The far-right former president called the rally as a display of strength following a police raid on 8 January, which was conducted to investigate an alleged coup attempt that could put him in jail. Lula had recently condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, likening Israel’s military offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust. In response to Lula's remarks, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz swiftly declared that Lula would not be welcomed in Israel until he retracted his statements. Brazil, in turn, recalled its ambassador to Israel, Daniel Zonshine, summoning him for urgent discussions in Rio de Janeiro.